Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2002/03/12

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Subject: [Leica] Re: Vs: Re: price of art prints (was re: kyle's fine art)
From: Allan Wafkowski <allan@sohogurus.net>
Date: Tue, 12 Mar 2002 15:26:06 -0500

When I was a young boy, my class went on a field trip to the 
Metropolitan Museum of Art. Van Gogh was my hero that year, so when we 
entered the room that held the van Goghs, I peeled off from the group 
and sat on a bench, staring at one of the sunflower paintings. Soon my 
classmates left, and I was alone. Staring at the painting, with the 
murmur of footsteps in the background, I was entranced to be sitting 
alone in a roomful of van Gogh's colorful paintings. After a restful 
pause, I left my seat, and walked toward the painting, and stopped only 
inches away. Enchanted by the swirling colors and thick, pasty pigment, 
I reached up and plucked off a small piece of paint and put it in my 
change pocket. I then left to meet up with my class.

I arrived home with my dangerous secret, and when I changed my clothes I 
couldn't decide where to put the paint chip for fear of losing it, so I 
left it in my change pocket and neatly folded my pants and placed them 
on my bed. The next day when I left for school, the pants and paint chip 
were still folded on my bed. When I returned home, they were gone. I 
asked my mother if she had taken them, and she answered, "Yes, I washed 
them."

That was it--the van Gogh chip was gone. Just as well, I suppose. My 
conscience would have made me return the chip at some later date. 
Perhaps thirty years after the fact, I would have called the museum and 
explained the missing chip story. Still, if I had the chip, and did 
call, and an amused museum worked and said, "Forget it," I would be the 
bearer of one official van Gogh sunflower paint chip from 
painting--well, I don't remember which one.

Allan


On Tuesday, March 12, 2002, at 01:32 PM, Feliciano di Giorgio wrote:
> Raimo Korhonen wrote:
>>
>> Yeah - van Gogh never sold any paintings in his life.
>> All the best!
>> Raimo
>
> I heard that after he died, a farmer used some of his paintings to patch
> holes in a fence or barn.
>

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Replies: Reply from Alastair Firkin <firkin@ncable.net.au> ([Leica] Re: Vs: Re: price of art prints (was re: kyle's fine art))
Reply from Feliciano di Giorgio <feli@d2.com> (Re: [Leica] Re: Vs: Re: price of art prints (was re: kyle's fine art))